Bad dancers from the Bubal tribe. Bubal tribe - giant eggs
Systematics of the Koala family, or Marsupial bears
Genus: Phascolarctos De Blainville, 1816 = Koalas, or marsupial bears
Species: Phascolarctos cinereus Goldfuss, 1817 = Koala, or marsupial bear
Family characteristic
All koalas are relatively small. In length, they reach 82 centimeters (average length - 71 cm), the weight of an adult is from 5 to 16 kilograms. Previously, the Koala family included several species, whose representatives are now extinct. Interestingly, the weight of koalas of a number of extinct species reached half a ton or more. There are currently eight genera in the family with one modern look.
The koala was first seen by humans at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. Average term life of koalas - 13 years. The oldest koalas die at the age of 19-20 years.
Koalas have a large head with large rounded ears, which are densely covered with fur. The muzzle of these animals has a somewhat flattened shape, small eyes and a black nose stand out on it. Most of the body of koalas is covered with ash-gray fur of different shades. It may also be reddish. On the belly and neck, the fur is light, back side paws - black. The coat of representatives of the Koala family is thick and soft.
The grasping limbs of the koala with sharp claws allow it to climb trees. Only lacking claws thumbs hind legs animal. The longest finger on the forelimb is the fourth. The first and second fingers of the front paws are opposed to the rest. Interestingly, the fingers of koalas are covered with a papillary pattern, almost identical to that observed in humans. Teeth 30. The number of chromosomes in the diploid set is 16.
Inside the well-developed "bag" of koalas, which opens back (the only case in the family of climbing marsupials), there are 2 nipples. Cheek pouches are present.
Males of the Koala family have a bifurcated penis, which is typical for marsupials in general. Accordingly, female koalas have two wombs and two vaginas.
Koalas have a slow metabolism, which is also inherent wombats And sloths. In addition, dietary habits have led to the development of an elongated caecum, as well as to the fact that the microflora of the alimentary tract of koalas decomposes vegetable food.
Koalas often get sick. The most common diseases in the populations of these animals are conjunctivitis, cystitis, sinusitis, turning into pneumonia. Many koalas die from them.
Representatives of the Koala family usually move slowly, moving to a gallop only in case of danger. They climb trees, occasionally make jumps, move along the ground.
Koalas feed on the leaves of 120 eucalyptus species, which contain the smallest percentage of poisonous terpene and phenolic compounds. Representatives of the family try to choose for food those leaves in which there is no hydrocyanic acid or its part is negligible. Feeding on eucalyptus, koalas have virtually no competitors on the "food front".
Moisture these animals receive from eaten leaves, and only occasionally - absorbing water.
Koalas are common in mainland Australia, as well as on the Cape York Peninsula.
Koalas are quite numerous and are beyond the threat of destruction. They have no natural enemies. Koalas die from rare attacks wild dogs And dingo, human hunting, droughts and fires, as well as severe long-term illnesses.
Koalas mate from the beginning of October to the end of winter, while the male gathers in a group with 2-5 females, fertilizing them in turn. This order is due to the fact that there are many times more females among koalas. Koalas mate in trees. Their pregnancy lasts about a month. There is one cub in the litter, which weighs about 5.5 g at birth. The cub lives in the mother's "bag" for up to six months, and lives on her back for another 6 months. By the end of the lactation period, young koalas were noted to eat the excrement of their mothers. Perhaps in this way digestive tract young animals get from adults the microorganisms necessary for the digestive process.
Female koalas are ready for mating from 2-3 years old, males - from 3-4 years old. One female has offspring every 1-2 years. Life expectancy is about 20 years.
These animals live on or near eucalyptus trees. From tree to tree, koalas jump or move along the ground. About 6 hours a day they move, the rest of the time they sleep or sit without moving. The koala is able to swim, although it rarely uses this skill. Both female and male koalas live alone most of the year.
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In the depths of the eucalyptus forests, you can meet a very cute and cute animal - a koala. Marsupials live in Australia and were artificially populated on the local Kangaroo Island.
This is a herbivore, which, according to many, got its name from the language of the natives.
"Koala" means not water loving. However, the cubs love water, but they drink it in an unusual way - they collect dew from eucalyptus leaves.
This name was introduced by the French zoologist Blainville. At first, the inhabitants of the continent called the koala simply "tree bear".
Appearance of koalas
Outwardly, koalas look like large wombats or like small bears. They have long, thick fur that is soft to the touch. Elongated legs help them to easily move through the trees.
Koalas have large rounded ears and arched claws with which they can hold up to 15 kg. The upper paws have a brush consisting of 2 parts - this is very convenient for moving through the trees. lower paws shorter and less developed, however this is not a fault.
Interestingly, koala fingerprints have the same structure as humans. Their teeth are about the same as those of kangaroos and wombars. These are sharp and strong incisors that easily cope with leaves.
One and interesting features these animals is a binary reproductive system. Females have 2 vaginas, while the male has a bifurcated penis.
Such a device reproductive system characteristic of all marsupials, but it causes great delight among lovers of the animal world.
Koalas have very small brains. Its weight does not exceed 0.2% of the bear's body weight.
According to scientists, it used to be larger, but in the process of evolution it decreased in size. This is due to the small selection of food, which is mainly vegetation.
Thus, it is one of the marsupials with the smallest brain. Outwardly, for example, in the photo of koalas, it is impossible to distinguish, because the head is quite proportional to the body.
On average, their life expectancy is about 15-20 years. Koalas practically do not make sounds. Most frequent occurrence- This is the calling call of males during the mating season.
How do koalas live?
The main part of the life of the cubs are in the trees. Basically they choose eucalyptus. For more than half the day, koalas are very passive. They can spend up to 12-16 hours in the same place, while being practically motionless.
Sometimes, when it doesn’t come out to get to a neighboring tree, a koala can descend to the ground and reach it, but this happens very reluctantly and one can say that the animal is “lazy”.
It is worth noting that in case of need (say danger), they can move quickly enough and jump to other trees.
They can even swim if need be, but normal conditions they don't, keeping calm.
According to experts, this behavior is directly shaped by what koalas eat. It doesn't take much effort to get food. It is in abundance on the trees, so koalas do not need to move quickly.
In addition, their main diet is eucalyptus leaves, which inhibit all processes in the body. It takes to digest a large number of energy. Eucalyptus shoots also contain poisons. The competition for such food is minimal.
In addition to koalas, only opossums and flying squirrels feed on eucalyptus. In the absence of a struggle for food, cubs can afford such imposing behavior.
What color are koalas?
They have a color that is similar in all individuals, but may have its own characteristics. Their fur can be several color schemes brown and grey.
The color of the koala helps them to camouflage themselves in the canopy of the tree. Given that they can be stationary for long periods of time, they can be quite difficult to spot.
Reproduction and social order
Koalas live alone, they do not create families and prefer to be on their own. They also do not have a separate protected area.
Sometimes, in some photos, koalas are gathered together - the animals are preparing for the mating season. They form small groups of up to 5 individuals. Each group has 1 male. It attracts females with a secret that remains on the branches after rubbing against it with the breast.
The criterion for choosing a male is not only the smell, but also the call of males.
Having picked up the most suitable male, the female agrees to mate. It goes on a tree. Already 4 weeks after conception, a cub is born. Sometimes females have twins. Most often, girls are born.
Photo of a koala
Koalas are mammals, marsupials. Live in natural environment wildlife only in Australia and Tasmania (like many other marsupials). They only look like bears. The lifestyle of koalas is completely different.
Animal life has been studied by scientists since the 19th century. Previously, this animal was unknown to science.
Quote from the site amazing world Australia":
“Koalas were known to science and society only in 1802, and a year later the first living animal of this breed was caught.
Koalas got their "official", scientific name as early as 1816, when they were given the name Phascolarctos - from the Greek phaskolos "leather bag" + arktos "bear".
Koalas got their specific name, cinereus (gray, ashen), thanks to the color of the fur.
Koalas are exclusively nocturnal. At night, these cute bumpkins doze on comfortable beds of eucalyptus branches. Of course, the beds in the trees. Well, close to the dining room
In the language of the indigenous Australians, the word "koala" means "never water drinkers". Indeed, these amazing bears get almost all the liquid necessary for life from eucalyptus leaves.
They, unlike bears, do not eat meat at all and feed exclusively on eucalyptus leaves, and in different time of the year - different types this kind of tree. This is because many varieties of eucalyptus produce poisonous chemical compounds. It is mainly hydrocyanic acid, which, when released into the blood, affects the respiratory system. Also, koalas do not look like bears because they lead an almost completely arboreal lifestyle and descend from their abode only to climb another tree.
The paws of koalas are superbly adapted for climbing and clinging.
Their big and index fingers opposed to all the rest - it is more convenient to grab the branches.
And koalas also have a tail, it's just that it's so tiny that it's almost invisible.
The fur of these animals is soft and thick, its color depends on the area where the koala lives, and can be gray, reddish and even reddish. On the abdomen, it is always lighter than on the back.
One of the most prominent body parts of a koala is its claws. They are so powerful and strong that, having stuck them into a tree, the koala does not fall down, even when he is fast asleep.
And they sleep often and for a long time, up to 20 hours a day. Koalas are generally very phlegmatic animals: during the day, even if they do not sleep, they sit motionless, clinging to a tree and only turning their heads from side to side. Often a baby sits on the back of the female, as unflappable as his mother.
Adult males have their own harems (groups of females). IN summer period time, approximately once every two years, a female koala brings one single baby.
A newborn cub reaches about 2 cm, and its weight is 5 grams. For half a year, the teddy bear sits in his mother's bag. At 7-8 months, the baby begins to gradually get out of his mother's bag and explore the world, and at 9 months he leaves his shelter and moves to the back of his mother, where he will spend about another year.
The average life expectancy of an animal is about 13 years, although there are individuals who live up to 18 years. The female often lives longer than the male. Koalas easily get used to captivity if it is an Australian reserve. However, after all, they only need eucalyptus, so they breed well in state security parks.
The number of koalas has declined alarmingly rapidly due to mass hunting. Now hunting for koalas is prohibited. The number of these wonderful bears is slowly but increasing.
Interestingly, koalas have human-like fingerprints.
We offer you to see photos with these wonderful animals.
It is sometimes hard to believe that these funny animals really live in the wild. It makes you want to take a koala in your arms. take it home, wrap it in a blanket and cradle it like a baby :))
Thick fur makes the animal look like a teddy bear. Interestingly, the color of the fur depends on the place where the koala lives.
Possible fur colors: smoky gray, bright and light red, almost red.
Interestingly, koalas absolutely do not drink water.
On the soft pads of the fingers of koalas, if you look closely, you can see a pattern identical to a human print.
Koalas can also boast of their claws, which are so strong that they can withstand the weight of the animal.
There are no claws on the thumbs of the hind legs of the koala.
The pregnancy of a koala lasts only 1 month.
After birth, the baby lives in the mother's pouch for six months and feeds on milk.
Then, when the baby moves to the back of his mother, he eats special feces (excrement) so that the baby receives the necessary microorganisms for good digestion.
Koalas sleep 18-22 hours a day. Still would! They are so tired, digesting their heavy food ...
Koalas are under the scrutiny of the World Wildlife Fund.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF, - World Wide Fund for Nature, World Wildlife Fund) is one of the world's largest public charitable organizations that has been working to protect nature around the planet for over 50 years. Every year WWF carries out over 1200 environmental projects, drawing the attention of millions of people to the problems of protection environment and their decision.
Koalas are usually silent. They make sounds only at the moment of danger. Frightened or injured koalas scream and cry like human children.
Here is another interesting fact:
The size of these amazing animals can vary (as well as the color of the fur) on the territory in which the individual lives. So, in the state of Victoria live the largest individuals, and in Queensland - the smallest of the koalas.
The story of a baby koala named Raymond
Not so long ago, near the Australian town of Brisbane, an orphan koala cub was discovered right on the road. Of course, the man who found him could not leave the crumb to die in the middle of the road.
It was so small that it easily fit in a coffee mug, and even now, a month later, it has grown only quite a bit. His nurse and guardian Julie Zyzniewski gave the baby the nickname Raymond.
Koala cubs, forced to be separated from their mothers in such a early age, suffer madly and even fall into a real depression, refusing the milk offered to them. But Julia managed to feed and warm the baby with her care and affection. He began to eat and get better. In a couple of weeks, he gained as much as 65 grams !!!
However, and this is the first of the interesting facts about the koala, the amazing animals of Australia, these animals are not bears at all!
Koalas are marsupial herbivores, relatives of wombats.
Although all over the world, except for their country of habitat - Australia, koalas still continue to be called "bears, koala bears." But for Australia, amazing koala animals are a national symbol.
With cute oriental panda bears living in Asia (including in), koala bears are related by the fact that a person destroyed the animals themselves for the sake of their fur, and systematically destroys their habitat. So, now the koala - these amazing animals of Australia live only in the south and east of the mainland (still on the island where they were brought), in the west of Australia their population has been destroyed ...
Koala bears are not large animals, they are about eighty to eighty-five centimeters tall, and weigh from five to fifteen kilograms. At the same time, southerner koalas are larger than northerners, and males are one and a half times larger than females. Although in ancient times the ancestor of modern koalas lived Koalemus, which was almost thirty times larger than modern individuals!
The main food of the koala is eucalyptus, the young shoots and leaves of which the animal consumes in the amount of half a kilogram-kilogram per day. The water contained in these leaves is enough for the koala, because they rarely drink, only when they are sick or during a drought. A good sense of smell allows the koala to choose the hundreds of species of eucalyptus trees (and a total of about six hundred species) that are needed for food. In fact, the leaves and shoots of these trees are poisonous, because. contain terpenes, phenols and even hydrocyanic acid.
But in the body of koalas these harmful substances are neutralized. But with such a diet, the animals have no competition for food resources! And, since eucalyptus leaves are not the most energy-intensive food, Australia's amazing animals koalas are slow and sleep a lot.
The metabolic rate in the koala's body is twice as slow as the average for mammals. They can sleep or just sit still (hanging) on a tree for up to three-quarters of a day.
The possibility of such a position for animals is ensured by the structure of their limbs: on the front paws there are long claws and “thumbs” set aside. This also helps the cubs to stay on the back of the mother, clinging to her thick fur.
In a critical situation, however, the phlegmatic koala ( Interesting Facts!) can not only move quickly, but also swim! And this does not exhaust the features of the koala. Interesting facts about the structural features of the body of these animals can be very surprising. So, unlike other mammals, the koala - the amazing animals of Australia - did not evolve, but degraded in the process of development. The brain of modern koalas, compared to their fossil ancestors, has decreased by forty percent! Scientists believe this is due to the koala's modern diet. But the papillary pattern on the fingertips of a koala is not only available (after all, koalas do not belong to primates), but it is also difficult to distinguish it from a human!
Koalas are not family animals, there are fewer males in the population than females. Females live on their own in a certain territory, males gather around themselves a kind of "harem" of a couple of five females only during the breeding season. By the way, male koalas - interesting facts - during this period can, due to additional vocal cords make very loud cries, like a much larger animal. These low sounds are heard at a distance of a kilometer and it is with them that males attract females.
The mating season lasts from October to February, female koalas become pregnant once a year or two, the pregnancy lasts thirty to thirty-five days. One baby is born (very rarely, two), very tiny - fifteen millimeters tall and five grams in weight. Up to six months, the cub lives in a bag on the mother's stomach, then travels for another six months, clinging to her fur on her back or stomach.
From a year and a half, young female koalas go to look for their own territory for living, but young males can live with their mother for another year or two. Female koalas become sexually mature at two or three years, males mature later - at three or four years. The average life span of a koala is twelve to thirteen years, although there is information about twenty-year-old koala centenarians.
